The Evolution of Islamist Propaganda : Comparative Analysis from Al-Qaeda to ISIS

Details

Supervisors

Arblaster, Paul

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en communication multilingue

Abstract

Since the infamous attacks perpetrated on New York soil on September 11, 2001, the world has been plagued by multiple violent terrorist attacks, sometimes fomented by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda and sometimes by the Islamic State group in response to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s self-proclaimed caliphate in the year 2014. This jihadist presence, both physical and virtual, is the result of a long evolution and sophistication in the field of propaganda. In this dissertation, not without clarifying some of the correct terminology, we explore the historical context in order to better understand how Al-Qaeda was created through its leading figure Osama bin Laden and how, over the years, one of its branches has gradually transformed into the world-famous Islamist terrorist group, that is the Islamic State. We also look at the very concept of jihadism to shed more light on this ideology and to understand the link maintained in the jihadist propaganda machine. Then, we go through the propaganda of each of the two groups in order to discern how it has evolved both in terms of the content of their message and in terms of how each realisation has been produced and disseminated. The main objective of this paper is therefore to demonstrate that, though Al-Qaeda and ISIS seem to rely on the same ideology, propaganda tends to evolve over the years both in the way certain goals are approached and in the manner the latter is produced and propagated.